There is a dangerous spirit rising in our politics today: the habit of talking about human beings as if they are less than human.
We no longer simply disagree with people. Too often, we mock them, label them, insult them, cancel them, stereotype them, and speak about them as enemies to be crushed instead of neighbors to be loved.
This is dehumanisation. It is what happens when a person made in the image of God is reduced to a political party, a race, a tribe, a nationality, a class, a religion, a slogan, or a vote.
But Scripture is clear: “God created mankind in his own image” (Genesis 1:27). That means every human being carries sacred worth. Not some people. Not only people who think like us, vote like us, worship like us, speak like us, or come from where we come from. Every human being.
A person may be wrong and still be human. A person may oppose us and still be human. A person may belong to another political side and still be human. A person may anger us, disappoint us, or challenge us and still be someone for whom Christ died.
James 3:9 warns us that with the same tongue we bless God, we can also curse people “who have been made in God’s likeness.” That should make us tremble. We cannot praise the Creator while degrading His creation. We cannot claim to love God while casually stripping dignity from people He made.
Politics matters, but politics is not God. No party, leader, ideology, flag, movement, or nation has the right to make us hate the people God commands us to love. Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31), and He went even further: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).
This does not mean we stay silent in the face of injustice. It does not mean we avoid truth. It does not mean we pretend evil is good. It means that even when we speak hard truth, we must speak as people who remember that every human life belongs to God.
When our words turn people into “animals,” “vermin,” “trash,” “threats,” or “those people,” we are walking on dangerous ground. History has shown again and again that before people are mistreated with hands, they are first degraded with words. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”
The Church must not copy the cruelty of the age. We are called to be salt and light. We are called to defend truth without losing love, confront injustice without losing mercy, and engage politics without surrendering our souls.
Before we post, speak, vote, argue, or share, we should ask ourselves: Am I seeing this person as someone made in God’s image? Am I speaking in a way that honors Christ? Am I fighting for what is right without becoming what is wrong?
If our politics makes us forget the humanity of others, then our politics has become an idol. If our convictions require us to dehumanise people, then something is deeply broken in our convictions. And if our faith does not shape how we treat those we disagree with, then we must return to the feet of Jesus.
Every person is not a problem to be erased. Every person is not a label to be mocked. Every person is not a political weapon to be used. Every person is an image-bearer of God.
May our politics be guided by truth, justice, mercy, humility, and the fear of God—not hatred, pride, fear, or contempt.
Scripture references: Genesis 1:27; Genesis 9:6; Psalm 8:4-5; Proverbs 18:21; Matthew 5:44; Mark 12:31; James 3:9; Ephesians 4:29; Micah 6:8.
Minister A Francine Green, August 2026